Imus vs. Sharpton

You know, there appears to be no limit to the stupidity that people in this country are willing to accept. I have made it apparent in other posts that I do not consciously watch any news, outside weather and traffic as needed. I just can’t stomach it. But I do consider myself relatively well-informed, nevertheless. You know, the big media blitz we live in still seeps in around the edges; I can’t block it out entirely – I’ve tried. I am a voracious reader, but there again, I am very selective in what I read; I read primarily fiction, of the historical nature, preferably of the 17th century and before. I don’t read biographies, tell-alls, anything of that nature (with the exception of Col. Hackworth’s About Face – relative and all that) – I’m not interested in people trying to justify their stupidity or victimizations, and I’m certainly not willing to give stupid people awards (i.e. my hard-earned money) for being stupid, and willing to admit it

That said, I know who Don Imus is; there are members of my household who are newsaholics, who watched the OJ trial (that’s where this all started, isn’t it?), and who have some news-something on when I walk in the house. So I’ve seen him, and I’ve even listened to him, in an effort to get my head around the obsession this country has with listening to dumbasses (see also Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Cindy Sheehan). And I know who Al Sharpton is – who doesn’t? Where Al is, Jessie’s sure to follow, isn’t he?

Okay, getting to the point: Uh, last time I checked, being STUPID wasn’t against the law. And let me tell you, if it was, neither Imus nor Sharpton would be at the front of the line. Also, SAYING STUPID THINGS isn’t against the law; in fact, surprisingly enough, it’s covered in the Constitution, being considered Free Speech. Before I continue this rant, I have to give you my interpretation of the 1st Amendment, and that is all it is, my interpretation: Freedom of Speech covers anything that does not cause harm to an individual; and by harm, I mean the act of saying certain words causing death or dismemberment. Hurt feelings don’t count, because that is 50% on the head of the recipient (s). Also, FoS covers anything that does not put the security of this country, and all the individuals it contains, singly or wholly, at risk of death or dismemberment. Of course, there are finer details here, but you get the idea, and that’s good enough for this discussion.

So, Al Sharpton wants somebody to police Imus because he said something stupid; he wants him punished for something that isn’t against the law. Now, don’t get me wrong – I do not agree with what he said, in any way, shape or form. In fact, to be completely honest, I could care less about the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team – glad they won, hope it was a fair game, etc., etc. Whatever. Don Imus is just a guy; he can have whatever opinion he wants about women, black women, black women playing basketball, women playing basketball, basketball – whatever combination you’d like to put together. And so can everybody else who cares to spend the time to form the opinion. Where he went wrong was in being stupid enough to let his opinion be known in an arena where, if it wasn’t looked on as favorable to the majority, he should be prepared to face the consequences – Open Mouth, Insert Foot. Happens every day on a much smaller scale, don’t you think? I probably do it more often than I am aware of at work. If I say something stupid, and it is brought to my attention if I really am unaware of the problem, then I apologize, and if needed, explain myself. If there is resentment afterwards, I understand it, and I move on. I’m never going to make all of the people I come in contact with happy all of the time – who can?

There are a couple of good articles about this little circus on TownHall.com – yes, the stronghold of uber-conservatives everywhere. I am conservative, but not 100%, so some of the things said on Town Hall either go against my grain, or don’t apply to me, so don’t throw any labels at me. But I do like Mike Adams and Michelle Malkin both, and their recent articles on this story I think hit the nail on the head. You can find them here: Michelle Malkin's article, and Mike Adams' article. It's interesting what is okay for certain people to say, but not others. And I've often wondered, for all those Blacks out there that don't like white people, doesn't that make them racists, too, or can only white people be racist? How does that work, exactly? Of course, I don't really worry about it myself - since I pretty much dislike everyone, you know.